Decockers...what's the difference?

[Sergei Mosin]

FL-NC, as I said earlier, if it's a problem, add "push the safety up" to the clearance drill. Easy enough to do that with your thumb while bringing the weapon back on target.

 

[GoPappy]

The Bersa Thunder Pro (both the Ultra Compact and Full Size) have a different decocking system than any others I'm familiar with.

To decock it, you push the safety/decocking lever UP. This lowers the hammer fully. There is no half cock position.

If you leave the lever up, the gun is both decocked and in safe mode, and the slide is locked and the trigger is disabled. (You can fully pull the trigger back all the way but nothing happens.)

To put the gun in a decocked position that is ready to fire in DA mode, you decock it by rotating the lever up, and then rotate the lever down to the fire position. It is then ready to fire the first shot in DA mode.

There is no cocked and locked position.

There may be others that operate like this, but I'm not aware of them. I can post pics if anyone would like.

 

[Ed Ames]

The Bersa Thunder Pro (both the Ultra Compact and Full Size) have a different decocking system than any others I'm familiar with.

To decock it, ...
There may be others that operate like this, but I'm not aware of them.

Sounds like the Makarov. Slide mounted down-to-fire/up-to-decock-and-lock-slide/trigger. Only difference is that with the Makarov you can't pull the trigger back.

 

[mikestone967]

Don't forget Taurus semi autos.. If you like the M9 pistol, the pt99 with frame mounted decocker safety.....

Just sayin..... Ya know?

 

[sequins]

I find it's better to have it on the frame because I can more easily work my slide without jamming the blade of a safety/decocker in the meat of my palm. That same criticism of hitting the blade with my palm also applies to accidentally manipulating it and going safe or decocking when you don't mean to. I've never had that happen personally so it's a minor gripe for sure but that palm on slide mounted decocker issue gives an edge to frame mounted in my book.

 

[69Precision]

Thanks for all the responses!

 

[Goju]

Regarding Sergei's post in # 44, I think the decocker lever travel for the standard "D" series CZ can be better described as rotating from the 2 o'clock to 3 o'clock position. And on the new Omega convertible P-01s, the lever travel is from the 10 o'clock to 9 o'clock position.

 

[herrwalther]

FL-NC, as I said earlier, if it's a problem, add "push the safety up" to the clearance drill. Easy enough to do that with your thumb while bringing the weapon back on target.

I never made the mistake of activating the safety on an M9 while doing drills with it in the military. One simple method. I put my fingers inside the safety notch, where the red dot "unsafe" is. This prevented the safety from being turned on during M9 manipulation. I also did the vast majority of my M9 training without gloves on or gloves with very good traction ie non military issue.

 

[69Precision]

Update!

Thanks for all the advice. I ended up buying a Smith 5906 at a nice price and I love it...especially the decocker!

 

[Confederate]

Years ago, I was really worked up over hi-capacity guns. The two guns I wanted the most were the S&W 59 and the Beretta 92. The nickel-plated 59 was the clear winner in the swimming suit competition, but then it couldn't perform for the Navy and lacked safeties that would keep it from going off when dropped on its muzzle. It also earned the moniker "jammomatic" because it had problems with hollowpoints and even some round nose ammo.

So I went for the Beretta and loved it. Now, years later, I still like the Beretta 92 design, but the Taurus PT92 clearly outdoes it when it comes to safeties, employing both the hammer drop and cock and lock designs. And though the accuracy of the Taurus pistols was lacking in the 80s, it now has pulled up neck to neck with the Berettas.

That said, I'll go with the Taurus. And I'll go for any pistol with a safety over the plastic guns that either don't have any or that have them on the triggers. The cocked and locked feature is my favorite, though.

 

[FL-NC]

Glad you got what you like.

 

[Sergei Mosin]

Thanks for all the advice. I ended up buying a Smith 5906 at a nice price and I love it...especially the decocker!

Well done. Hard to go wrong with a 3rd-gen Smith. I've been keeping an eye out for a 5906 myself. Haven't run across one yet but I'm sure I will.

 

[pblanc]

If you like the Beretta 92FS/M9 but are afraid of accidentally tripping the lever there is another option apart from searching for a G model (which can be hard to find), sending your slide off to Bill Wilson to have it milled for a G conversion (which can be an expensive and lengthy proposition), buying a Taurus PT92 (a nice pistol but not a Beretta), or waiting for Beretta to finally release the G conversion lever to the public (you might die first).

The Wilson Combat low profile safety lever works quite well, especially for a right handed shooter:

http://shopwilsoncombat.com/Wilson-...ker-Beretta-92_96-F_FS-Model/productinfo/636/

This lever pretty much does away with the right side of the ambi lever and slims down the left side of the lever to the point where it is virtually impossible for the lever to be accidentally swiped down.

Of course, it also makes it more difficult to take the pistol off safety quickly but that really isn't a problem for those who carry or keep the 92FS with a round chambered, hammer down, safety off for self-defense purposes. It is easy to use the safety as a decocker by simply pushing the lever down and immediately back up.